Sociology: Family and Households (Sociological Views on the Family)

Hold an optimistic view of the family. They believe that the family plays an important role for the rest of society. Talcott Parson says the family meets a number of societal and personal needs. The family is constantly evolving and that the Nuclear Family has developed (evolved) to meet the needs of modern day society.

Key Functionalists and their studies

Murdock- studied 250 different societies and cultures. Foung four key functions that appeared in all societies:

Reproductive

Economic

Educational

Suxual

Can be easily remembered as REES.

Fletcher- claims that introducing health, education and housing policies let to the lower/ working class families to take care of its members when they are sick.

Parsons- The family has two basic and irreducible functions. These are primary socialisation of the children and the stableisation of adult personalities.

Key Concepts

- Socialisation - Sui Generis -Social Cohersion/ Solidarity

-Norms and Values - Institutions -Meritocracy

-Social Order - Organic Analogy -Value Consensus

-Functional Prerequisite -Socail Structure -Status Quo

-'Best Fit' Thesis

Critisisms from other theories

Too harmonious and optimistic

Ignores the negative sides to what happens in family

Ignores conflict

Focuses on the positive aspect of the family (nuclear family) too much and ignores the fact that there is a decline in the nuclear family.

The New Right view on the family

The New Right hold traditional values and believe that the 'normal' nuclear family is the cornerstone of society. They believe in the nuclear family (similar to conservatives). The believe that families are not changing but 'deteriorating' because of the decline in the Nuclear Family.

Aim of the New Right

An end to sexual permissiveness (reduce the amount of cohabiting couples, single-parent families and same-sex families.).

A return to 'traditional family values'.

These changes will bring and end to social problems such as delinquency, educational underachievement and child poverty.

Believe in the male 'breadwinner' of the home.

Rejection of single-parent families.

Women's roles are seen as traditional.

Murray- Believed that the Beveridge report encouraged the welfare state instead of helping people the way it was intended to because social attitudes lead people to believe they have a right to recieve benefits. He is highly critical of the Welafare state and believes that this started a dependency culture, which has now led to an Underclass.